Competition watchdog to investigate Evri merger with DHL’s UK parcel arm

CMA to decide whether deal will substantially lessen competition in delivery market

The UK’s competition watchdog has announced an investigation into the proposed merger of the delivery company Evri with DHL’s UK e-commerce business, a deal set to create one of the biggest parcel couriers in Britain.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday it was investigating Evri’s purchase of DHL eCommerce UK, as well as the parent company DHL Group’s acquisition of a minority stake in Evri.

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Reefs made from human ashes could revive British seabeds, says startup

UK company offers alternative to land-based burials after success of memorials in Bali made from remains of pets

Death is killing our planet. That is the stark assessment of a new business offering an innovative alternative: having your loved one’s ashes made into a reef and anchored to the British seabed.

There are increasing concerns about the environmental cost of traditional funerals: a single burial generates 833kg of CO2, while a typical cremation has a footprint of about 400kg of CO2. In the US alone, 1.6m tonnes of concrete and 14,000 tonnes of steel is used each year for building graves. Chemicals from embalming processes seep into the soil.

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BT considers takeover move for struggling rival TalkTalk

TalkTalk has been hit by financial difficulties and customer exodus but it is thought no approach has been made

BT is weighing up a potential takeover of the rival telecoms and broadband company TalkTalk, which is struggling amid financial difficulties and a customer exodus.

The UK’s biggest broadband provider is understood to have discussed the strategic possibility of buying TalkTalk. However, it is understood no approach has been made or talks held with TalkTalk, and that bankers have not been asked to draw up takeover plans.

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Hong Kong police accuse mobile game of promoting ‘armed revolution’ – NPR

  1. Hong Kong police accuse mobile game of promoting 'armed revolution'  NPR
  2. Hong Kong Bans Taiwanese Video Game for Promoting ‘Armed Revolution’  The New York Times
  3. Reversed Front: Bonfire: Hong Kong bans 'seditious' mobile game  BBC
  4. Hong Kong police accuse a mobile game app of promoting armed revolution  AP News
  5. Hong Kong Bans Video Game in Further National Security Push  Bloomberg
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Gisèle Pelicot settles claim for invasion of privacy against French magazine

Paris Match agrees to pay €40,000 to two charities after publishing photos of Pelicot

Gisèle Pelicot, who survived almost a decade of rape involving dozens of men after she was drugged by her ex-husband, has settled an invasion of privacy case with the French magazine Paris Match.

Pelicot, who became a feminist hero after she decided to waive her right to anonymity in the trial of her former husband and 50 other men last year, took legal action against the publication in April.

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Ukraine’s defense industry says the fight against Russia has shown it that the West’s approach to weapons is all wrong – Business Insider

  1. Ukraine's defense industry says the fight against Russia has shown it that the West's approach to weapons is all wrong  Business Insider
  2. Ukraine's defense industry says the fight against Russia has shown it that the West's approach to weapons is wrong  Yahoo
  3. Ukraine's Defense Industry Says It Can Make a Lot More Weapons With a Simple Fix  Business Insider
  4. Ukrainian arms exports: billion-dollar potential for the country and European security  VoxUkraine
  5. Gabrielius Landsbergis, ex-Foreign Minister of Lithuania  Ukrinform
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French doctor says Israeli authorities were ‘abusive’ to Greta Thunberg – politico.eu

  1. French doctor says Israeli authorities were ‘abusive’ to Greta Thunberg  politico.eu
  2. Ignore the Greta Thunberg Circus, There’s a Real Path to Help Gaza  Bloomberg
  3. Israel holding two Gaza boat activists in solitary confinement, NGO claims  The Times of Israel
  4. Israel deports Greta Thunberg after Gaza-bound ship she was on was seized  AP News
  5. “They Kidnapped Us”: Deported Gaza Flotilla Activist Describes Israeli Interception in Int’l Waters  Democracy Now!
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Fire breaks out at Larne leisure centre as Antrim unrest enters third night

Local MLA blames ‘masked thugs’ for attack on centre that had been hosting people in need after Ballymena rioting

A fire broke out at a leisure centre during a third night of disorder in Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

People wearing masks smashed windows at the Larne leisure centre in County Antrim and set fires outside which spread inside the building.

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‘The odds are astronomical’: Canadian man wins lottery jackpots four times

Cancer survivor David Serkin won draws in August, November and May, and another more than a decade ago

How do you say “lottery winner” in western Canada? The answer is: David Serkin, the name of the cancer survivor from Alberta who won three separate lottery jackpots between August and May to accumulate about $2.5m in prize money.

According to officials, those lucky tickets marked the second, third and fourth times Serkin had won a lottery in his life, a feat that he had vanishingly small chances of pulling off and gained notice on corners of the internet dedicated to charming news stories.

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‘Win-win’: new maps reveal best opportunities for global reforestation

New study shows regions with best potential to regrow trees and suck climate-heating CO2 from the air

New maps have revealed the best “win-win” opportunities across the world to regrow forests and tackle the climate crisis, without harming people or wildlife.

The places range from the eastern US and western Canada, to Brazil and Columbia, and across Europe, adding up to 195 million hectares (482 million acres). If reforested, this would remove 2.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, about the same as all the nations in the European Union.

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Trump administration slams UK over sanctions on Israeli ministers – politico.eu

  1. Trump administration slams UK over sanctions on Israeli ministers  politico.eu
  2. U.K., Canada and Others Impose Sanctions on Far-Right Israeli Ministers  The New York Times
  3. US and Israel condemnation of sanctions on ministers is 'predictable', Australia says  Reuters
  4. United States Condemns UK, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, Australia Sanctions on Israeli Government Officials  U.S. Department of State (.gov)
  5. Who are Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli ministers facing sanctions?  The Guardian
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ABC confirms Q+A to be axed amid wider changes including about 40 redundancies

Political and current affairs discussion program being cut alongside the ABC’s Innovation Lab

The ABC’s Q+A program has been cancelled after 18 years, the broadcaster has confirmed, and another major restructure of screen, digital and audio content will result in scores of redundancies across the public broadcaster.

The savings from staff cuts will be “reinvested directly into more content and services for audiences”, the managing director, Hugh Marks, has told staff.

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US and China agree framework deal to extend trade war truce

US commerce secretary expresses optimism that deal will resolve concerns about rare earths and magnets

The US and China have extended the truce in their trade war after two days of talks in London that resulted in a “framework” deal over export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors.

Negotiations to resolve the wider tariff war triggered by Donald Trump in April will continue but the truce settles, for now, growing tension between the two economic super-powers.

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Kyiv’s historic Cathedral damaged in Russian air strikes – Vatican News

  1. Kyiv’s historic Cathedral damaged in Russian air strikes  Vatican News
  2. Russia hits Ukraine's Kharkiv with deadly nighttime barrage of drones  Reuters
  3. Russian airstrikes kill 3 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy warns of evolving drone tech  ABC News
  4. With Sirens Screeching and Explosions in the Sky, Kyiv Struggles to Sleep  The New York Times
  5. Attack leaves Kyiv choked in smoke, hits Odessa maternity hospital  The Washington Post
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